tw_backup

The tw_backup utility enables you to create a backup of a BMC Discovery system on a local directory on the appliance, an SSH enabled remote system, or a Windows share. To use the utility, type the following command:

tw_backup [options]

where:

options are any of the options described in the following table and the common command line options described in Using-command-line-utilities.

Common password options are described in this table

Common password options are described in this table to make it clear whether the password referred to is for the local or remote system.

Backing up the system when a baseline run is in progress results in critical baseline alerts

Baseline is run periodically by the BMC Discovery system. Should baseline be running when a backup is started critical baseline alerts may be reported. The backup is unaffected by these alerts. The automatic baseline check schedule can be modified using the tw_cron_update. In order to minimize the chance of alerts no new periodic baseline checks are performed during the backup.

Command Line Option	Description
--backup-dir=DIR	Specifies a remote backup directory relative to the user's home directory on SSH servers, and the top-level share directory in Windows shares. This option is required for SSH and Windows shares, unless the alternative --unc-path is specified for Windows shares.
--backup-local	Create a local backup in the $TIDEWAY/var/backup directory. Only one local backup can be stored.
--backup-smb	Create a backup on a Windows share.
--backup-ssh	Create a backup on a remote SSH server.
--email=EMAIL	Specify an email address to receive notification when the backup completes. This depends on email being correctly configured on the appliance.
--encryption-fd=FD	Enables you to read the encryption passphrase from a file descriptor.
--encryption-file=FILE	Enables you to read the encryption passphrase from a file.
--exclude-sensitive	Exclude sensitive data from the backup. Appliance UI users are always backed up and restored, regardless of this setting.
--fix-interrupted	Unlock the system after a previous backup has failed to complete, starting services if possible.
--force	Force the creation of a backup when the services are down. This can omit some auditing of the action.
-h, --help	Display help on standard options and exit.
-H, --host=HOST	The hostname or IP address of the remote host.
--no-verification	Do not verify (md5) the backup after it has been created.
--notes=NOTES	Enter some free text notes about the backup.
--overwrite	Overwrite the existing local backup.
-u, --username=NAME	The user to run the utility as. This has to be a valid BMC Discovery UI user such as the system user, not a username used to access the command line via SSH.
-p, --password=PASSWD	Specifies the password of the BMC Discovery user. If no password is specified, you are prompted for one. This is only relevant for utilities that have the --username option. For more information about password policies, see Managing-security-policies.
--passwordfile=FILE	Specifies a file from which the password is to be read. This is only relevant for utilities that have the --username option. This file is not encrypted, though you can set the file permissions to owner-only (chmod 600 passwordfile.txt) to restrict access to the file. For more information about password policies, see Managing-security-policies.
-P, --port=PORT	The port on the remote Remote SSH server. Only required if the default SSH port (22) is not used.
--reduce-db	Reduce database backup size (slower to restore)
--remote-password=PASSWORD	The password for the remote user on the remote system. For SSH servers or Windows shares, the password can include special characters. If you include special characters in the password, make sure to enclose the password in single quotes; for example, '123$abc.edf'
--remote-user=USER	The username for the remote user on the remote system. For SSH servers or Windows shares. To specify the domain for Windows shares, use the following syntax: --remote-user=user@domain
-S, --share=SHARE	The share name of the remote Windows share. For example sharename. This option is required for Windows shares, unless the alternative --unc-path is specified.
--stop-services	Stop services to create the backup. Required when creating a backup.
--unc-path=PATH	The UNC path for the Windows share. For example \\\\sharename\\foldername or //sharename/foldername. You can specify this as an alternative to --share and --backup-dir.
-v, --version	Display version information and exit.

User examples

In the following examples, the local username is system and the password is not specified on the command line. The remote SSH username is tideway and the password is password. The remote Windows share is called remshare, the corresponding username is remdom/tideway and the password is password.

The utility prompts for the local password after you enter the command. Type the commands on a single line; line breaks are provided in the examples to make them easier to read.

Create local backup

$TIDEWAY/bin/tw_backup --stop-services --backup-local --username=system

Create backup on a SSH enabled remote system

$TIDEWAY/bin/tw_backup --stop-services --backup-ssh --backup-dir=/addm_backups --remote-user=tideway
--remote-password=password --host=de-32.bmc.com
--username=system

Create backup on a remote Windows share

$TIDEWAY/bin/tw_backup --stop-services --backup-smb --reduce-db --remote-user=username
--remote-password=password --unc-path=\\\\windows.bmc.com\\backups
--username=system